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La Brea Bakery

What's in, what's out, what's coming up next? And how do you factor in answers to all three of those overarching questions to create relevant, fresh expressions of brands that work not only for today but for a few years down the road? Such are the issues that keep many in the restaurant design and development community up at night. To help provide some insights, rd+d tapped a panel of designers and architects around the country for their takes on the current state of restaurant design, trends they think are past their prime (hint: a certain type of wood and a certain type of bulb lead the list) and what clients can do to help ensure more successful design projects.

New York's Times Square now has its own unique urban food market, City Kitchen. Opened in March in the artsy Row NYC hotel, City Kitchen gives guests and locals alike a taste of some of the city's most buzzed-about food concepts all in one central location.

LAGO, the third Las Vegas restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Julian Serrano, builds on the Bellagio Las Vegas tradition of offering world-celebrated chef restaurants overlooking the hotel's iconic fountains.

Denver-based fast-casual chain Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill is continuing a brand refresh that kicked off last October. Headlining the changes is a new "urban" design prototype, introduced at the chain's new 2,300-square-foot location in the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall in downtown Denver.

In late January, Denver's Tavern Hospitality Group raised the curtain on its newest concept, Whisky Tango Foxtrot (WTF). A neighborhood gathering place in the up-and-coming Prospect Park area, the operation was designed by Colorado architecture firm Arch11 as an ode to Denver's pre-Prohibition watering holes, but with decidedly modern twists.

On Tuesday, New York multiconcept operator Gerber Group opened Irvington, a "New American," Mediterranean-influenced bar and restaurant, on the street level of the W Hotel New York – Union Square.

At a breakfast hosted this week at the James Beard House in New York City, nominees for the Foundation's 2015 Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards were announced, along with those in 58 other award categories. Winners will be announced at the James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception on May 4 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Paying homage to the former auto dealership and ambulance garage that once occupied the space, designers for Steel & Rye in Milton, Mass., blended existing industrial and historical accents with newly minted blonde wood and innovative fixtures using salvaged building materials.